Members of the family and friends of organ and tissue donor, Robert "Bob" Ehrentraut, of Hawthrone participate in NJ Sharing Network’s 5K Celebration of Life at Bergen Community College in Paramus.
Mitsu Yasukawa/NorthJersey.com

Michael DiPiano Sr. (seated) with family and friends at a recent party celebrating his 20th anniversary.(Photo: Michael DiPiano/Special to Nutley Sun)

With his health deteriorating because of diabetes, the Nutley native was on dialysis for kidney failure and had been read his Last Rites. He was a devoted husband and father of three, a well-known wrestling coach and athletic director at St. Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark.

His life, while so fulfilling, was seemingly coming to an end at the age of 47.

On Oct. 25, 1998, Mike’s life was re-invented with the gift of a double organ donation, where he received a kidney and pancreas. And today, things couldn’t be better for the man most of us know as "Big Dip" and whose heart and vitalized spirit has helped thousands with his "Gift of Life" message and the significance of organ donation.

Now living the dream in Daytona Beach, Florida, with his wife, Karen, Mike has spent countless hours with children who also have received organ donations. Every Christmas season, he hosts a party at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston for those children.

The organs that saved Mike’s life were donated by a man we’ll know simply as Sean, a 21-year-old who, on Oct. 24, 1998, was killed in an automobile accident. Sean had indicated on his driver’s license that he wanted to be an organ donor in the event of his death.

DiPiano had never meant Sean, but he lives life every day with the constant reminder that Sean is indeed a part of him.

“The greatest gift of all,” DiPiano said with a smile. “I’ll never be able to repay that gift.”

Mike recalled the months and years leading up to what is now his 20th anniversary of good health.

“Back in 1995, I was told I would need a double transplant because of a nearly 30-year battle with diabetes,” DiPiano recalled. “I remember a year later, I was at the Olympics in Atlanta and I was told to get to a hospital right away. My sugar was high but I thought I’d be OK. Later that summer, when I was back home, I was rushed to St. Michael’s Hospital and got so sick that (St. Benedict’s Headmaster) Father Edwin (Leahy) read my Last Rites, and they were already planning my funeral at St. Benedict’s.”

At that time, Dr. Leon Smith stepped in, through a contact of Leahy’s. A renowned Internist who specializes in infectious diseases, Smith assessed DiPiano’s condition.

“Whatever he did, he took me from a five to 10 percent chance of surviving,” DiPiano recalled. “He saved my life, because even Father Edwin said ‘If he can get to 10 percent, he’ll make it.'”

Having administered the last rites to DiPiano, Leahy knew a higher power was looking out for the former.

"If it weren't for Dr. Smith and the grace of God, we would have lost him a long time ago," Leahy said. "He went from a five percent chance of survival to the poster child for organ transplant. It's a great overall story."

DiPiano's association with St. Benedict’s was legendary. As the wrestling coach there, he amassed a record of 274-89 and was named the Coach of the Year by the Newark Star-Ledger in 1987. He is a member of the St. Benedict’s Hall of Fame, as well as the USA Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla. After coaching at St. Benedict’s, DiPiano became the school’s athletic director. In May 2012 he received the school’s highest honor to a lay person, the Medal of St. Benedict’s.

“Mike DiPiano helped build this place,” Leahy said of St. Benedict’s. “He must have held a thousand different positions here. He was the spine of the school.”

Mike’s family, his wife, Karen, daughter Michelle and sons Michael Jr. and Frank had never given up on the rock of their family beating any kind of odds. Mike recalled when a donor was found on that fateful night, 20 years ago.

“Back then, everyone used beepers to keep in touch,” DiPiano said. “I’m out with a friend and the beeper goes off, and I thought it was his. But he looked at me, and said ‘No, it’s yours’. That beeper was there only to inform me of a possible transplant match, so when I returned the call, I knew things would be happening quickly.”

When DiPiano was informed that there was a match for his kidney and pancreas, there was little time to get to know who the donor was. The surgery was scheduled for Oct. 25, 1998, a date which is clearly evident on Michael’s right arm in the form of a tattoo.

“The surgery lasted about eight hours,” DiPiano recalled. “I was in the hospital about seven days. The biggest concern after a transplant is that the body could reject it, but everything went well. I could tell pretty quickly how much better I was feeling. I don’t think I really knew how sick I was until after the transplant.”

DiPiano actually has three kidneys now. “They don’t remove the old kidneys, they kind of stored them in my body,” he said with a laugh. “The one working kidney is in the normal place.”

With a new pancreas, DiPiano’s diabetes is no longer the concern it once was. With his blood sugar near normal, he doesn’t need to take insulin, but is careful with his diet.

DiPiano’s passion is talking about the importance of organ donation. He's also a committed athlete who has participated in numerous Transplant Games and has traveled the Globe, both competing in track and field, as well as his never-ending commitment to organ donation.

DiPiano’s message has resonated well in Nutley and other communities in New Jersey. The Gift of Life Duals, a series of high school wrestling matches to bring awareness to organ donation, will have its ninth renewal this coming January. Mike always delivers the message of organ donation and how it has saved thousands of lives. He also knows the staggering number of people who need a transplant to continue living, as he has.

“Over 110,000 people are waiting for an organ donation of some sort,” DiPiano said. “Twenty five die, waiting, each day. It is truly amazing what medical science can do when someone gets a new lease on life with a heart, lung, pancreas, kidney or liver. It’s amazing.”

On Oct. 27, Mike celebrated the 20th anniversary of his transplant with friends in Nutley. They included, of course, his wife, daughter and sons Michael and Frank, both of whom are now enshrined in the St. Benedict's Hall of Fame along with their dad.

"I feel extremely blessed and grateful for the Gift of Life," he said. "The gift that a young man named Sean gave to me by signing up to be an organ donor, by checking the box on his driver's license and letting his parents know his feelings about organ donation. Over 150 people showed up to help me celebrate that wonderful gift last week, which was hosted by my wife and children.

"There was a lot of love in that room. There were people there from every facet of my life, family friends, members of my transplant team, who are also a part of Team Liberty and are organ recipients, as well as living donors and donor families. It showed and proved to me that I didn't waste the Gift of Life I received. I hope that I can continue do do things to honor my donor and spread the news and continue to educate people about transplantation and organ donation for the next 20 years."